| "Learn to Fly" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byFoo Fighters | ||||
| from the albumThere Is Nothing Left to Lose | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | October 1999 | |||
| Recorded | Spring 1999 | |||
| Studio |
| |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:56 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Foo Fighters singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Learn to Fly" onYouTube | ||||
"Learn to Fly" is a song by Americanrock bandFoo Fighters, released byRoswell andRCA Records in October 1999 as the lead single from their third studio album,There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999). It was the band's first entry—at number 19—on theBillboardHot 100, remains their second-highest-charting song on the chart. Outside of the U.S., it peaked within the top 40 in Australia, Canada, Hungary, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland and the United Kingdom. The song's music video wonBest Short Form Video award at the43rd Grammy Awards in 2001.
"Learn to Fly" was originally released as a promo-only single.[2] It was officially released as a two-disc CD set in the UK and Australia, as well as in Europe, and promotional singles were also released in other countries such as the US for radio play.
In the US, it was the band's first appearance on theBillboard Hot 100, charting at number 19,[3] and was the band's first number one on theBillboardModern Rock Tracks chart.[4]
It is also their highest-charting on theBillboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, along with the 1996 hit "Big Me", reaching number 13.[5]
The song set the record for most weeks (13) at number one on the Canadian rock radio charts.[6]
The music video for the song was directed byJesse Peretz and won theGrammy Award forBest Short Form Music Video in2001.[7]
It takes place on a commercial airliner, parodying the movieAirplane!, and by extension, the filmsAirport 1975 and its sequelAirport '77, interspersed with a mock concert footage of the band shown as an in-flight movie. The background elevator music isThe Moog Cookbook's version of "Everlong".[8]
Two airline cabin cleaners (played byJack Black andKyle Gass fromTenacious D) smuggle and hide their narcotics, labelled "World Domination brand 'Erotic' Sleeping Powder",[9] in the coffee-maker. The flight attendants do not notice the narcotics when they use the coffee-maker, and everyone who drinks the resulting coffee becomes incapacitated. The take-off sequence, in addition to the crew members hiding ulterior criminal motives, are a near shot-by-shot homage to the filmAirport '77.
The band, having avoided the coffee (choosing liquor instead), mirroringKaren Black's role inAirport 1975, find themselvesforced to land the plane. For the video, each band member (Dave Grohl,Nate Mendel, andTaylor Hawkins) portrays himself as well as several other roles, including Hawkins as an attractive flight attendant and Grohl as an FBI agent who arrests the two cabin cleaners when they attempt to smuggle more of their narcotics.[10]
On July 30, 2015, a video was published onYouTube of 1,000 Italian musicians inCesena, all playing and singing the song in unison, followed by a plea for the Foo Fighters to come play a concert in Cesena.[11][12][13] By August 16, it had gained more than 33 million views.[14]
On July 31, Dave Grohl responded, in Italian, thanking the makers for "the beautiful video" and adding "Thank you so much. We're coming, I swear. We'll see each other soon."[15][16] On November 3, 2015, in response, Foo Fighters performed a twenty-seven-song concert in Cesena for approximately 3,000 people, starting their set with "Learn to Fly".[17]
The group assembled for the stunt have performed subsequently under the nameRockin' 1000, and have been described as the "biggest band in the world."[18]
In August 2015, nearly 16 years after its initial release, the single entered theAustrian Singles Chart at number 69 and theSwiss Singles Chart at number 41.[19]
A live version recorded inSydney, Australia, on January 24, 2000, was released on the Australian "Generator" single and CD 1 of "Breakout".
Greg Kot ofRolling Stone referred to the song as a "guilt-free power ballad". He noted that "on 'Learn to Fly', the big guitars and arching melody crush all quibbles. Some grunge romantics may even hear it as a touching little hymn to [Nirvana]".[20]
In 2020,Kerrang ranked the song number 11 on their list of the 20 greatest Foo Fighters songs,[21] and in 2021,American Songwriter ranked the song number three on their list of the 10 greatest Foo Fighters songs.[22]
Credits and personnel adapted from "Learn to Fly" CD single liner notes.[24]
| Chart (1999–2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[30] | 36 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[31] | 13 |
| Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)[32] | 1 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[33] | 32 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[34] | 72 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[35] | 23 |
| Quebec Airplay (ADISQ)[36] | 3 |
| Scotland (OCC)[37] | 15 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[38] | 52 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[39] | 21 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[40] | 19 |
| USAlternative Airplay (Billboard)[41] | 1 |
| USMainstream Rock (Billboard)[42] | 2 |
| USAdult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[43] | 4 |
| USAdult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[44] | 15 |
| USPop Airplay (Billboard)[45] | 22 |
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[46] | 69 |
| France (SNEP)[47] | 172 |
| Germany (GfK)[48] | 97 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[49] | 41 |
| UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[50] | 2 |
| US Rock Digital Songs (Billboard)[51] | 14 |
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Hungary (Single Top 40)[52] | 19 |
| Chart (2000) | Position |
|---|---|
| Brazil (Crowley)[53] | 98 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[54] | 4× Platinum | 280,000‡ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[55] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Canada (Music Canada)[56] | Gold | 20,000* |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[57] | Gold | 45,000‡ |
| Italy (FIMI)[58] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON)[59] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[60] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[61] | Gold | 30,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[62] | Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[63] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Formats(s) | Label(s) | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | October 18, 1999 (1999-10-18) | CD single | [64] | |
| United States | November 2, 1999 (1999-11-02) | Contemporary hit radio | [65] |
"Learn to Fly" appears in the political drama television seriesThe West Wing episodeMr. Willis of Ohio, in the 1999 sports documentaryFift, in the 2002 animated comedy-drama television filmIs It College Yet?, in the 2002 romantic comedy-dramaLife or Something Like It and the 2016 animated filmRock Dog.
...the sunny power-pop-adjacent feel of earlier Foo Fighters tracks like "Learn to Fly"...
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| EPs | |
| Live albums | |
| Compilations | |
| Videos | |
| Singles |
|
| Other songs | |
| Concert tours | |
| Associated acts | |
| Films | |
| Related | |
